If you were to ask 12 different people what is the best air conditioner temperature, and you’re liable to get 12 different answers.
As home air conditioning experts, we get asked this question a lot. But it's important to remember that everybody has their own opinion about the perfect temperature and – guess what – they’re all right!
That’s because it’s all very subjective; we all feel the heat and cold differently.
This all depends on a number of variables; what we’re used to, how old we are, how much we weigh, whether we’re male or female, the condition of the air conditioner, the size of the room, and more.
For example, when the outside temperature gets down to 10 or 12 degrees, South East Queensland locals would no doubt start reaching for an overcoat and ugg boots, while visitors from temperate climates who haven’t as yet acclimatised would probably think it was still quite pleasant.
What does our age have to do with being hot or cold?
Well, as we get older, we start feeling the cold more as our metabolism makes it harder for our bodies to generate heat.
Presumably, we are also less active and taking more medication. So there may also be an issue with blood circulation which in turn affects body temperature.
Therefore, an older person would probably set their air conditioner a few degrees higher than a twenty or thirty-something year old.
Other factors that may come into play is how new an air conditioner in, how well it’s functioning, whether it needs servicing, whether the windows and doors are closed and the blinds drawn, and more importantly, if it has been correctly sized for the room it is operating in.
For example, a 3.3kW air conditioner from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries would be too small to cool/warm a 30+ sqm bedroom; for that you’d need a 5kW unit. (Incidentally, an air conditioner should only take about 20 minutes to cool or heat the room to the desired temperature.)
The general consensus is that the best temperature to set your air conditioning at is:
And remember, you can save considerably on your power bill for every 1°C of cooling or heating that you do without (around 10% per degree).
For example when it's 36° outside, setting your air conditioner to around 25°C, rather than say, 22°C, can save a significant amount of energy without your system running constantly.
Because it’s so hot out, 25°C will seem comparatively cool and you’re not wasting precious power being super-cool.
It’s just a matter of striking the perfect balance between comfort, cost and the efficiency of the system.
For more information about home air conditioning and how to get the most out of your system, please speak to one of our team members today!